David almond



D. ALMOND.

HAT FORMING MACHINE.

(No Model.)

Patented Sept. 15, 1885.

Phulo-Lilhcgrapher. Wnhington. n. z;

UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE. j:

DAVID ALMonD,-or NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

HAT-FORMING MACHINE.

I SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 326,377, dated September 15, 1885.

Application filed March 2, 1885.

. To all whom, it may concern.-

'Be it known that'I, DAVID ALMOND, a citizen of the United'States, residing in Newark, Essex county, New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in'Hat- Forming Machines, fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

This invention consists in an improved rotary drum for operating in combination with afur picker-roll, and is-intended as a substitute for the rotary brushes heretofore employed to carry the fur from the picker-roll.

My improvement consists in substituting a projecting ridge or strip for the tufts of bristles heretofore placed in rows upon the brushdrum. Such ridge may be formed of any suitable material, as sheet metal, wood, or leather, and is shown in the annexed drawings as consisting in a strip of sheet metal so] dered longitudinally upon the periphery of a tin cylinder, such as I hate claimed in a patent, application No. 138,791, already allowed to me.

The invention is applicable to any machine containing a rotary brush operating with a picker-roll, but is intended especially for use in hat-forming machines. In such machines the fur is fed upon a traveling apron to the picker-roll, and is carried from thence by the rotary brush and discharged upon the hatforming cone. The bristles employed in such brushes are naturally rough and splintery in:

structure, and are liable to catch and retain small particles of gummy matter and dust which exist among the fur fibers, and tointermittently discharge such accumulations of dirt, similar to what is known in the trade as a blood-dag, upon the forming-cone, to the great injury of the hat-bodies. Such defects in the hat-body are termed dags, and are not readily discovered until considerable labor has been expended upon the bodies in felting the same, when their discovery sometimes causes the rejection of the whole felt. This tendency of the bristles to attract and retain the dirt is greatly aggravated by the burning and enlarging the ends of certain of the bristles in the process of searing by means of a hot searingiron for the purpose of equalizing outer end of the bristle,and leads to the forma- (No model.)

the revolving brush-drum. Such searing often forms a knob like a pin-head upon the tion of a great many of such dags; and my improvement is adapted to entirely obviate the use of bristles or brushes and the formation of any dags in the hat-bodies.

Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating the feedsubstitute'for the rotarybrush. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal view of the same; and Fig. 4 isa' diagram showing part of the periphery or shell of the carrier-drum of the natural size, with one ridge attached thereto.

A is the feed-apron, B the feed-rolls, G the picker-roll, and D the carrier. e are the ridges, shown in Fig. 4 as an angle-strip having one flange soldered to the shell of the drumD and the other projecting therefromlat a slight angle with the dotted radial line 1" 1".

An arrow, f, in Figs. 2 and 4 shows the direction of the drums rotation, and the ribs are shown in both the figures sloped backward from the radial line, so as to present an inclined surface to the atmosphere, and thereby prevent the greater part of the friction and loud humming noise which I have found by experience is produced when the ridges proj ect in a strictly radial direction from the shell of the. drum.

I have found that the projecting strips 6 effect every function of the rotary brushes heretofore used. and that they are entirely free from the objection which attaches to the use of bristles, while the expense of construc tion is very greatly diminished by the substitution of such strips for the numerous tufts of bristles fastened into wooden or metallic holders, such as I have described in my former application, No. 138,791. The weight of such strips or ridges of sheet metal, which in practice project but very slightly from the surface of the drum D, is also very much less than that of any brushes heretofore used, and when attached to a tin or sheet-metal drum such as is claimedin my said applicationthe entire construction is very much lighter than those heretofore used, and not only requires 6o *apron, feed-rollers, picker-roll, and so-called i rotary brush. Fig. 2 1s an end View of my improved rotary carrier whichlI employ as a I I deposit of dirt upont 5 much less power,togoperate it, but is much more easilyhandled in constructing and repairing the machine to which it is attached; 4

It is obvious that such strips or ridges may be attached by means of screws or rivets,"bu't that in view of the high speed of rotation the safest method is to soiderlthe strips uponthe drum by means of the flange e, as shown in Fig. 4. The dirt and impurities inthe fur do not adhere to such ridges or strips'as'tobrush es heretofore used, especially when formed of smooth sheet metal, and my experience has shown that such'lattermaterialis cheap'e'r" than wood or leather, while it is more-suitable for the purpose.

- It is obviousthat the strips may be disposed difl'erently uponthe 'dr l'm, 51$ in short pieces withfintervals between them, or in an inclined or. zigzag manner.

I have to lid in practicethat the best angle g forthe ridges e is aboutffifteen degrees 'froii j the radial line, and that such an'glenot onlyl, greatly diminishes the noise,jbut prevents the by reason of the sloping current ofairinduced over such inclined surface I thus etfe'ctuallyf obviate the tendency to ib fmidags in the felt,

Having th s d ibed thsnatsre of y 3 epeat. cla m the same s the. fpllowing 11131111161:

1. The combination, with a rotary drum for carrying the torn fur from the fur picker-roll,

V of proj ecting ridges upon the periphery of the dr'u n1, arranged and operated substantially as herein shown and described.

2. The combination, with a carrier-drum "operating to carry the fur,substantially as described, of metallic strips secured longituditially as described, of metallic strips soldered 1 uponthe drum," l describegnpd iyglinedto i i l e f t drum substan i y as and render the simple ridge a pe' r fefi t SilbSti k tute for the brushes heretofore used. I f

E and for .the' purpose set tort In te in i whereo are heme. 1:

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